Damien Sandow
Throughout 2002-2004, Sandow had numerous try-out matches on Heat against opponents such as Steven Richards, Team Angle, Johnny Nitro, and Maven. He also worked an angle where he had his fingers "broken" by Raven on Heat. On August 4, 2006, Sandow made his SmackDown! debut as "Idol Stevens" when he was introduced (along with KC James) by Michelle McCool as one of her favorite "Teachers Pets". The two went on to defeat Funaki and Scotty Too Hotty with the help of McCool. The following week, Stevens and James defeated WWE Tag Team Champions Paul London and Brian Kendrick in a non-title match. On the August 18 show, Stevens and James ambushed the Tag Team Champions. The two teams began feuding, with London and Kendrick bringing in Ashley Massaro to counteract McCool. The feud also briefly encompassed the team of Jamie Noble and Kid Kash, who also wanted a Tag Team title shot. Stevens and James got their Tag Team Championship shot against the tandem at No Mercy on October 8, but failed to win the titles. Soon after, both Stevens and James were taken off television. On December 6, 2011, prior to the WWE SmackDown tapings, Sandow was given a tryout dark match against Yoshi Tatsu, but lost. Later at a SmackDown live house show in Chattanooga, Tennessee, he faced Tyson Kidd to a loss. The character of Damien Sandow, an arrogant intellectual, first appeared in WWE on the April 6, 2012 episode of SmackDown in a pre-taped interview denouncing today's pop culture and extolling his virtues. After weeks of vignettes, Sandow debuted on the May 4 episode of SmackDown but refused to compete in his scheduled match against Derrick Bateman, claiming that the audience would neither learn nor benefit from him facing an inferior opponent. On the May 18 episode of SmackDown, Sandow again refused to wrestle against Yoshi Tatsu and then attacked him after Tatsu called him a chicken. The following week, Sandow made his in-ring debut, defeating Tatsu. The following week, Sandow refused to face Ezekiel Jackson, but was forced into the match, which he also won. On 6/8/12 edition of Smackdown, Sandow had intentions of attacking Hornswoggle who was mocking J.R but Tyson Kidd saved him before Sandow attacked Tyson in return. The next week a match between the two would see Tyson Kidd defeated decisively. The following week, Sandow refused to face Ezekiel Jackson, but was forced into the match, which he also won. On June 8 edition of Smackdown, Sandow had intentions of (kayfabe) attacking Hornswoggle who was mocking J.R but Tyson Kidd saved him before Sandow attacked Tyson in return. The next week a match between the two would see Tyson Kidd defeated decisively. On the June 29 episode of SmackDown, Sandow defeated Zack Ryder to qualify for the World Heavyweight Championship Money in the Bank ladder match at Money in the Bank, but was unsuccessful. At Raw 1,000, Sandow confronted D-Generation X regarding their sophomoric and disgusting behaviour which he believed had brainwashed society; Sandow also declared that he would be a martyr if D-X disposed of him. Despite this, D-X assaulted Sandow and laid him out. On the July 30 episode of Raw, Sandow began a feud with Brodus Clay. Then, the following week when he was scheduled to a match against Brodus Clay, Sandow attacked Brodus from behind viciously targeting his knee before the bout had even started, hence, no match took part place. On the August 1 'Raw', Damien Sandow faced Christian. During their match-up, Brodus walked the ramp, perhaps, in attempt to distract the intellectual saviour but to no avail as Christian came short and was defeated by Sandow. On the August 16 "WWE Superstars", Sandow faced Justin Gabriel in a hot contest where Sandow was victorious. After making Brodus Clay victim of the number of attacks by Damien Sandow in the recent weeks, on 20 August WWE Raw, both were scheduled to compete in a match again where Sandow defeated Brodus by a quick pin-fall. After the match Brodus attacked Sandow in frustration leaving Sandow lying on the mat. On the August 31 episode of SmackDown Sandow had his first singles loss after being intentionally counted out against World Heavyweight Champion Sheamus. Sandow then aligned himself with Cody Rhodes, attacking WWE Tag Team Champions Daniel Bryan and Kane on the September 24 episode of Raw and vowing to become the next champions. The team, known as Rhodes Scholars, were entered in a Tag Team Championship tournament four days later on SmackDown, and defeated the Usos to advance. Sandow's undefeated streak came to an end on the October 1 edition of Raw, when he was pinned by Sheamus in a singles match. The following week on Raw, Rhodes Scholars defeated Santino Marella and Zack Ryder to advance to the finals in the tournament. Rhodes Scholars ultimately defeated Rey Mysterio and Sin Cara on the October 22 episode of Raw, to win the tournament and become the number one contenders to the WWE Tag Team Championship. Rhodes Scholars got their title opportunity against Team Hell No (Daniel Bryan and Kane) at Hell in a Cell, where they won by disqualification, thus Team Hell No retained the titles. Rhodes Scholars received another shot at the WWE Tag Team Chapionship on the November 14 of WWE Main Event, but were again defeated by Team Hell No. During the match, Rhodes suffered several legitimate injuries, placing their partnership on hold. On the November 23 episode of SmackDown, Sandow unsuccessfully challenged Kofi Kingston for the Intercontinental Championship, his first singles title opportunity in WWE. From December 2012, Sandow begun a search for an apprentice by quizzing members of the audience. Sandow and Rhodes reunited on the December 10 episode of Raw, where they defeated Epico and Primo, Prime Time Players (Darren Young and Titus O'Neil), and the Usos in a fatal four-way tag team elimination match to earn the right to face Rey Mysterio and Sin Cara in a number one contender Tables match at TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs. Six days later at the pay-per-view, Team Rhodes Scholars defeated Mysterio and Sin Cara to become the number one contenders to the WWE Tag Team Championship. Team Rhodes Scholars received their title shots on the following episode of Main Event, but were again defeated by Team Hell No. On the January 7, 2013, episode of Raw, Team Rhodes Scholars defeated Team Hell No in a non-title match to earn another shot at the WWE Tag Team Championship. The title rematch took place on January 27 at the Royal Rumble, where Team Rhodes Scholars once again failed to capture the tag team titles. On the following episode of SmackDown, Sandow and Rhodes mutally decided to dissolve Team Rhodes Scholars and remain "best friends". However, Sandow and Rhodes would reunite during the pre-show of Elimination Chamber on February 17, but were defeated by the team of Brodus Clay and Tensai. Sandow and Rhodes then aligned themselves with The Bella Twins as they began feuding with "Tons of Funk" (Brodus Clay and Tensai) and The Funkadactyls (Cameron and Naomi). The two teams were originally booked to face each other in a eight-person mixed tag team match on April 7 at Wrestlemania 29, but their match was cut due to time constraints. The match instead took place the following night on Raw, where Tons of Funk and The Funkadactyls emerged victorious. On the May 15 episode of NXT, Sandow challenged Big E Langston for the NXT Championship, but was defeated. Sandow then began feuding with Sheamus on the May 24 episode of SmackDown, when Sandow tried to test Sheamus' intelligence by trying to untie the Gordian Knot, but the segment ended with Sheamus throwing Matt Striker onto Sandow. For the next two weeks, Sandow would continue to hold these segments with Sheamus, but they would continue to end with assaults on each other. On June 16, during the WWE Payback "kickoff", Sandow was defeated by Sheamus in a singles match. The following night on Raw, Sandow and Cody Rhodes defeated Sheamus in a handicap match after Sandow pinned him with a roll-up. The rivalry culminated in a Dublin Street Fight on the June 28 episode of SmackDown, where Sheamus emerged victorious. On July 14 at the Money in the Bank pay-per-view, Sandow defeated his partner Cody Rhodes, Antonio Cesaro, Dean Ambrose, Fandango, Jack Swagger, and Wade Barrett to win the Money in The Bank ladder match, thus earning the opportunity to challenge for the World Heavyweight Championship at a time of his choosing within the next year. During the match, Sandow threw Rhodes off the ladder just as he was about to win the match, which led to Rhodes attacking Sandow the following night on Raw, effectively dissolving Team Rhodes Scholars once and for all. On the July 26 episode of SmackDown, Rhodes stole the briefcase from Sandow and threw it into the Gulf of Mexico; Sandow jumped in to save it, but gave up as he could not swim. On the August 5 episode of Raw, Rhodes gave Sandow the briefcase that he retrieved from the Gulf of Mexico but kept the contract itself. Sandow then introduced a new custom made Money in the Bank briefcase with a fresh copy of the World Heavyweight Championship contract on that week's SmackDown. Later that night, Sandow attempted to cash in his contract on a vulnerable Alberto Del Rio, but was attacked and laid out by Rhodes. On August 18 at SummerSlam, Sandow was defeated by Rhodes in a singles match. On the September 9 edition of Raw, Sandow defeated The Miz in singles competition, ending his losing streak. On the October 11 edition of Smackdown, Sandow seemingly turned face when he interrupted the World Heavyweight Champion Alberto Del Rio and lost to him during their match that night by tapout. In October, Sandow resumed his heel presence and began a minor feud with Dolph Ziggler, losing him on October 6 at the Battleground Kickoff Match, and again the following night on Raw. On the October 28th episode of RAW, Damien Sandow cashed in his contract on World Heavyweight Champion John Cena, though he was unsuccessful. On the December 2nd edition of Raw, Sandow defeated Dolph Ziggler to become the #1 contender for the Intercontinental title. However, Langston was able to defeat him at TLC to retain the championship. At the Royal Rumble, Sandow entered the Royal Rumble match at #3 and was the first man eliminated in the match by CM Punk. After the Royal Rumble, Sandow began appearing less frequently, losing to Sheamus, R-Truth and Darren Young. In April, Sandow dressed as Magneto to confront "Wolverine" (guest star Hugh Jackman) and Dolph Ziggler, which resulted in Sandow being attacked by both Jackman and Ziggler. On the May 12 Raw and its pre-show, Sandow started delivering worked shoot comments displaying his apparent dissatisfaction at his position in WWE, resulting in his microphone being turned off. Sandow continued to make similar comments with allusions to being handcuffed. After that, he continued to wrestle as a different character each week, including Magneto, Sherlock Holmes, Davy Crockett, a rapper called D-Sizzle, Lance Stephenson, Pete Rose, Lebron James, Abraham Lincoln, Paul Revere, "Vincent Kennedy McMahon-dow", Bruce Springsteen, "Bret Sand-Hart", Shawn Michaels, a Sonic Drive-In employee, a Tampa tourist, Neil Armstrong, an Oklahoma Sooners Football Player, "Mr. Border Patrol", and a lumberjack. In August, The Miz, who had returned with a movie star gimmick, began using Sandow as his "stunt double", involving Sandow substituting for him in matches. On the September 1 of Raw, Miz pinned Dolph Ziggler after a distraction from Sandow, who attempted to replace Miz during the match. On September 2 edition of Main Event, Sandow was defeated by Ziggler in a non title match. On October 14, on Main Event, he expanded his repertoire, imitating Sheamus on Miz TV, handing over the United States Championship before The Celtic Warrior interrupted him. However, he continued to imitate Sheamus as he spoke, leading to a Clothesline and Brogue Kick. At Survivor Series, Mizdow and Miz won a Fatal 4-Way tag team match by defeating defending champions Gold and Stardust, The Usos and Los Matadores to capture the WWE Tag Team Championship - marking Sandow/Mizdow's first ever title won in WWE. On the December 29 episode of Raw, they lost the titles to The Usos. In the same night he was defeated by the debuting Ascension. On February 2nd edition on Raw, The Miz fired Mizdow as his stunt double, however, he quickly rehired Mizdow as his personal assistant. Two weeks later on Raw, Mizdow lost to Bad News Barrett after constant miscommunications from the Miz, allowing Mizdow to fall to Barrett's Bull Hammer. Further tension arose between the pair, after Midzow appeared to make fun of Miz in a "Niagra" commercial on the March 2 Raw. He turned face for the first time in his WWE career, when he finally split away from The Miz at WrestleMania 31 in the Battle Royal, only to be eliminated last by the eventual winner, Big Show. Mizdow (now accompanied by The Miz's The Marine 4: Moving Target co-star Summer Rae) then feuded with The Miz over the next several weeks, trading victories on Raw before challenging Miz to a match for the rights to the Miz brand on the April 20 episode. The Miz won the match after Summer Rae betrayed Mizdow by raking him in the eyes, allowing Miz to hit the Skull-Crushing Finale and pick up the win. As a result of the loss, Mizdow returned to his former name, Damien Sandow. On the April 27 edition of Raw, Sandow was thanking the fans for their support when he was interrupted by Curtis Axel. Axel, who himself had been mimicking Hulk Hogan, attempted to insult Sandow, only for Sandow to repeatedly parrot what he was saying, much to Axel's annoyance. Axel attempted to attack Sandow, only for Sandow to get the upper hand, hitting him with a Hogan-style big boot and leg drop and running him off. Sandow's parroting was further introduced as a part of his new character on the April 30 episode of SmackDown, as he repeated ring announcer JoJo's introductions before defeating Curtis Axel. He also began being referred to as the "new" Damien Sandow. On the May 5 episode of WWE Main Event, Sandow began impersonating Randy Savage, calling himself Macho Mandow, in a match against Axel. The Ascension attacked Sandow and Axel during their match. On May 11, Sandow formed an alliance with Axel (parodying The Mega Powers) after the Ascension again attacked during a rematch. The Mega Powers lost a tag team match to the Ascension at Payback. The Meta Powers angle was dropped on July 24, after WWE fired Hulk Hogan and severed all ties with him. After a short hiatus, he reemerged on September 15, 2015, where defeated Adam Rose in a dark match prior to Smackdown. He came out wearing his old blue robe and ring attire. However, he wrestled as a face instead of a heel. On November 13, 2015, Damien Sandow made his return on television on Main Event, this time having completely reverted to his 'Intellectual Saviour of the Masses' gimmick and defeated Heath Slater. Sandow returned to SmackDown was on January 14, 2016 when he teamed with Jack Swagger, Goldust, and Zack Ryder in a losing effort against The Social Outcasts (Heath Slater, Bo Dallas, Adam Rose, and his former partner Curtis Axel). On the 2016 Royal Rumble kickoff, Sandow teamed with Darren Young to compete in a Fatal Four Way tag match to qualify for the Royal Rumble, although it was a losing effort. Sandow also competed in the 3rd Annual Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal at WrestleMania 32, where he was the 2nd person eliminated, by Shaquille O'Neal. On the April 28th episode of Smackdown, Sandow returned to television when he faced newcomer Baron Corbin in a losing effort. On the May 2 Raw, Sandow competed in the United States Championship Number 1 Contendership Battle Royal, but was the 2nd person eliminated once again. Four days later, on May 6, WWE announced that Sandow had been released from his contract. Category:Money In The Bank Winners Category:Managers Category:WWE Tag Team Champions Category:Slammy Award Winners Category:Current Alumni